A Four-Part Poem by David B. McCoy

FROM A DICTIONARY OF COMMON BEAT TERMS

--after Alberta Turner

BEAT

Beat up

Beat down

Beat it out

* * *

The beat goes on….

Industrialization, commercialization, standardization

Can you hear that beat? --Can you feel it?

They’re beating the life out of us.

"So I guess you might say we're a beat generation."

* * *

Beat!

We’ll beat them at their own game.

We’ll flip, we’ll wig out, we’ll cut out of their dullsville society.

Like sputnik, baby, we’ll get sky high.

COOL…

as in to lower temperature

To lose the heat of excitement, of passion

To calm down

To take it easy

To cool one’s heels

To blow one’s cool

To be detached, aloof

To be calm, to be fresh

To be done well

To be very good

To be Hot!

Cool…

DIG

Dig into dirt flesh one’s past

Dig into dreams

Dig what they’re telling you

--‘Cause, man, you’re in a hole

You’re in a rut

You’re in over your head

Exhume yourself, baby!

Dig free of the nowhere shit and

get it together.

Can you dig what I’m sayin’?

RIFF

The action was being put on

by the hipster with a sharp axe—

I mean he could blow!

But if you paid him no mind,

he’d freak. Like today,

that cat was hip on a ‘Trane side,

but we wanted to watch the eye.

He got so salty the squares

next door called the fuzz.

That was a gas!

Turns out that jive-ass turkey

has been five-fingering all over town

to grease his buzz.

After words, we all piled into our rods

and hit the passion pit

for a Dean flick.

I was hoping to score

this hot chick I hooked up with

at the grind, but she was

just puttin’ me on.

When we hit my pad

I was so bummed

I wanted to blast off.